Playoff Fantasy Rankings & Strategy For QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs & More

Playoff Fantasy Rankings & Strategy For QBs, RBs, WRs, TEs & More article feature image
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Getty Images. Pictured: Davante Adams, Travis Kelce, Derrick Henry

The regular season is over, but fantasy football doesn't have to be.

Roster construction is trickier in the playoffs — you have to factor in the fact that elite fantasy options like [insert name of Chiefs player] are guaranteed to miss one of the four weeks, but have higher chances of actually reaching the Super Bowl. So, with these tough decisions in mind, I've outlined my playoff rankings into tiers for each position below.

I've also used my player projections to simulate the playoffs 10,000 times and calculate their floor, median and ceiling projections:

  • Floor = 80% chance a player clears that number
  • Median = 50% chance a player clears that number
  • Ceiling = 20% chance player clears that number

These floor vs. median vs. ceiling projections factor in how many rounds their teams could play — so, for quarterbacks, Josh Allen has a higher "ceiling" projection than Patrick Mahomes because the Bills are playing in the Wild Card Round (while the Chiefs have a bye) and thus the max amount of games Allen could play is four while the max amount Mahomes could play is three.

Now, let's get to my projections (and tiers!) for each position.

Note: All projections are as of Jan. 6 and based on half-PPR scoring.

Playoff Fantasy Rankings

Jump To
QB | RB | WR | TE | K | DEF

Fantasy QB Projections

Fantasy QB Tiers

Tier 1
Patrick Mahomes
Josh Allen
Tier 2
Aaron Rodgers
Tier 3
Lamar Jackson
Drew Brees
Tom Brady
Tier 4
Russell Wilson
Ben Roethlisberger
Tier 5
Ryan Tannehill
Tier 6
Baker Mayfield
Philip Rivers
Mitchell Trubisky
Tier 7
Taysom Hill
John Wolford
Alex Smith
Tier 8
Jared Goff

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Fantasy RB Projections

Fantasy RB Tiers

Tier 1
Alvin Kamara
Tier 2
Aaron Jones
Ronald Jones II
Derrick Henry
Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Chris Carson
Tier 3
Jonathan Taylor
James Conner
J.K. Dobbins
Tier 4
Zack Moss
Devin Singletary
David Montgomery
Leonard Fournette
Cam Akers
Latavius Murray
Nick Chubb
Tier 5
Gus Edwards
Antonio Gibson
Le'Veon Bell
Tier 6
Jamaal Williams
Nyheim Hines
Kareem Hunt
J.D. McKissic
Benny Snell
Darrell Williams
Tier 7
Mark Ingram
Malcolm Brown
Carlos Hyde
Patrick Ricard
Rashaad Penny
Tier 8
Peyton Barber
Ke'Shawn Vaughn
Jeremy McNichols
Darrynton Evans
Jordan Wilkins
Khari Blasingame
Artavis Pierce
Andy Janovich
Ryan Nall
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The industry's top weekly rankings

Projected points for every player

Analysis from our team of experts

Fantasy WR Projections

Fantasy WR Tiers

Tier 1
Stefon Diggs
Davante Adams
Tier 2
Tyreek Hill
Michael Thomas
Tier 3
D.K. Metcalf
Chris Godwin
Mike Evans
Antonio Brown
Diontae Johnson
Emmanuel Sanders
Tyler Lockett
Tier 4
Tier 4
Juju Smith-Schuster
Cole Beasley*
Chase Claypool
John Brown
Marquise Brown
A.J. Brown
Allen Lazard
Sammy Watkins
Tier 5
Corey Davis
Marquez Valdes-Scantling
Mecole Hardman
Allen Robinson
Tier 6
Robert Woods
Marquez Callaway
Jarvis Landry
T.Y. Hilton
Terry McLaurin
Cooper Kupp
Demarcus Robinson
Rashard Higgins
Tier 7
Michael Pittman Jr.
Willie Snead
Zach Pascal
Gabriel Davis*
Darnell Mooney
Cam Sims
David Moore
Scott Miller
James Washington
Miles Boykin
Josh Reynolds
Isaiah McKenzie
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Tier 8
Dez Bryant
Anthony Miller
Steven Sims
Equanimeous St. Brown
Freddie Swain
Cameron Batson
Cordarrelle Patterson
Van Jefferson
Devin Duvernay
Javon Wims
Tier 9
Kalif Raymond
Tyler Johnson
Ashton Dulin
Ray-Ray McCloud
Lil'Jordan Humphrey
Isaiah Wright
Dontrelle Inman
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine

*If Beasley is ruled out for Wild Card Weekend, he would fall toward bottom of Tier 6 while Gabriel Davis would rise toward top of Tier 6.

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Fantasy TE Projections

Fantasy TE Tiers

Tier 1
Travis Kelce
Tier 2
Mark Andrews
Tier 3
Robert Tonyan Jr.
Rob Gronkowski
Jared Cook
Tier 4
Eric Ebron
Dawson Knox
Tier 5
Logan Thomas
Jonnu Smith
Cameron Brate
Austin Hooper
Jacob Hollister
Cole Kmet
Tier 6
Adam Trautman
Tyler Higbee
Gerald Everett
Jack Doyle
Will Dissly
Trey Burton
Tier 7
Greg Olsen
Harrison Bryant
Anthony Firkser
Jimmy Graham
David Njoku
Lee Smith
Tier 8
Mo Alie-Cox
Josh Hill
Geoff Swaim
Garrett Griffin
Jace Sternberger
Marcedes Lewis
Vance McDonald

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Fantasy K Projections

Fantasy K Tiers

Tier 1
Wil Lutz
Tier 2
Tyler Bass
Ryan Succop
Harrison Butker
Tier 3
Mason Crosby
Justin Tucker
Matthew Wright
Jason Myers
Tier 4
Sam Sloman
Rodrigo Blankenship
Matt Gay
Cairo Santos
Cody Parkey
Dustin Hopkins

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Fantasy DEF Projections

Fantasy DEF Tiers

Tier 1
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tier 2
Buffalo Bills
Pittsburgh Steelers
Seattle Seahawks
Tier 3
Kansas City Chiefs
Baltimore Ravens
Green Bay Packers
Tier 4
Los Angeles Rams
Cleveland Browns
Tennessee Titans
Washington Football Team
Indianapolis Colts
Tier 5
Chicago Bears
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